Rain!

I very clearly remember my first fall quarter of college up at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. It was the year of El Nino, so the amount of rain that fell seemed unreal to a desert rat like me. At first it was cool to hear the rain falling, fun to avoid the puddles, nice to feel warm and cozy in my tiny dorm room. Quickly that feeling changed to dread at the knowledge that the next day would only be one with more muddy puddles, damp socks, drab hair, and soaked through jeans.

Since moving back to the Valley, I have enjoyed every single quarter inch of rain that has fallen. Actually, though, being a farmer's wife, I have to gauge my reaction to the rain very carefully. First, I hear about the forecast from my weather-man/husband. Then I ask, very innocently, "Is there hay on the ground?" If the answer is no, I ask, "Were you planning on getting any tractor work done?" If the second answer is no, I can be openly happy about the rain. If he answers yes, I have to act grim and curse the rain for daring to show it's unwelcome face.

Rain is so rare here in the desert, that when the sky opens up with more than a light drizzle, people tend to act a little nutty. It's like we are all so thrilled by the change in weather, we can't help ourselves, we feel a bit giddy. We love pulling out our dusty umbrellas, and Ugg boots, which we pretend are galoshes, and brave it through the rainy streets and water-filled gutters. It's like we can all finally boast to our San Diego and Bay area friends, "See, we get weather too! Just look at my raincoat!" We are so excited, we go crazy! Does rain have this effect on all desert people? I don't know, but I conducted a study in my own household today, see for yourself.

This looks like a normal little kindergartner, enjoying the winter rain. She LOVED that mom required her to wear her hat outside. The mittens and scarf were just to add a little flair.

Now, what exactly is going on here? Nutty behavior, I'm telling you!

Actually, she's just thirsty, I'm tired of cleaning those sippy cups all the time!

She walked up and down our front walk, listening to the rain falling on her umbrella.

What is it called when you keep doing the same thing over and over again with the same result? Exactly.

Well, now, what about this little munchkin? All I can say is, the poor thing had to wear her cowboy boots outside in the rain and pretend they were rain boots since her mom didn't have the good sense to properly outfit her. Somewhere, an Auntie A is dismayed at this fashion blunder.

I guess it makes sense for kids to do silly things on rainy days, I mean, they're kids, right? So, let's look to the adults for some sensical behavior.

There are those who overprotect. I mean, can this guy see to drive?

By the way, this person shall remain nameless.

And there are those who underprotect. How about a hat? And what's so funny?

Ok, so the adults can't be relied upon for logic in the rain. How about the babies? Perhaps they will surprise us all with normal behavior. Think again. The babies were all about rocking out this evening. It was like a reverse Indian rain dance. Instead of dancing to bring the rain, they danced to celebrate the rain.

J.D. is all about the jazz hands.

He is stoked right now because he just mastered a Michael Jackson move. I know, I wish I could show you this on video....

Yeah, he'll be the youngest dancer ever to audition for River Dance next month. We're very proud.

Just bust a move.

While all this craziness was going on, E was completely serious, and performed an entire coreographed dance number. She's wearing my old Christmas dress from when I was the same age. I'm glad it's coming to use.

All right, the moment you've been waiting for. I did take a video of J.D. dancing with the girls. See what you think.

Crazy? Maybe. River Dance? Definitely.